Rachel Farley’s Early Start

Jon Freeman | Published: Apr 01, 2013

Singer/songwriter Rachel Farley is off to an early start on her musical career, landing her debut single, "Ain't Easy," on the country charts at the tender age of 17. If you do the math, she started getting ready for this moment when she was incredibly young—just 11, to be precise.

"I picked up a guitar when i was 11," recalls Rachel. "My brother had actually picked it up before me and I wasn't allowed to touch it because I was musically inclined. My parents were like, 'If you pick it up before him he's gonna get frustrated. Just lay low.' I was like, 'Alright, alright. I won't touch it.' So I didn't."

But it didn't take long for her turn to arrive, and she made the most of it. "It took him maybe three weeks of just getting frustrated because he didn't want to tune it," says Rachel with a laugh. "It was too much work. So he was like, 'I don't want to play this thing!' So I took over his lessons."

Seems like that arrangement worked out pretty well, considering Rachel has already shared stages with Brantley Gilbert and Jason Aldean. Her debut album, which she is recording with Jason's producer Michael Knox, is due this summer.

Read more about Rachel in the April 8 issue of Country Weekly, on stands now.